strict dieting, exercising and gaining weight--how can this be?

[Insane Mom]

My 18 yo daughter has been strictly following the South Beach diet and could not be paid to cheat.  She eats approx. 1200 calories/day and swims at least 10 laps of olympic pool/day plus other exercise on a daily basis.  Only drinks water and 1 cup of coffee w/2% milk daily.  Takes 30 mg of Armour thyroid daily, calcium, multi vitamin and fish oil, also Diamox and Topomax (topamax) for pseudotumor cerebri.  She has been following this for 3.5 months, has not lost one single pound and has gained 7 pounds.  I know she has not eaten anything she isn't supposed to.  She is very strict about what goes in her mouth. She is 5'10" and weighs 237.  This is absurd.  Does anyone have any clues what could be going on or what to do?  How can anyone exercise that much, eat as little as she does and gain weight?  She has not eaten simple carbs for years.  The only complex carb she eats is one small apple/day and not every day.  Eats high fiber, low fat, low carb and gains weight.  It makes no sense at all.  She and I are both crazy from it.  Someone please help.

[melitys]

I agree with kari- your daughter may not be getting enough calories.  When I did the Atkins diet, I was instructed to eat 10 calories for every pound that I weighed- and yes that meant that since I weighed 200 pounds, I was supposed to eat 2000 calories!

I think she should eat more because her diet is not enough to keep her metabolism up.  Tell her to increase her calorie intake.  If she doesn't want to do this with meats, increase her vegetables for two weeks or so and see if it helps.

Good luck!

[diggers]

I completely agree with these comments.  Too many people are told that they need to almost starve to loose weight and that the latest craze works for everyone.  I would drop the SB diet completely.

I'm 30 and my metabolism is really dropping off.  But lately I discovered, even though I've heard it a lot, that eating 5 to 6 small meals a day helps you lose weight.  And changing up your exercise helps a lot.  I want to lose 15 pounds to really feel better but it's hard.  And everyday is a challenge for me.  I'v lost four pounds and the next week, knowing that I have slacked, i gain two back.  It's crazy and frustrating but the real accomplishment is just putting on your clothes and noticing the change.

I would suggest going to an actuall nutritionist and seeing how her body actually reacts to foods.  Lowering "bad" carbs doesn't work for everyone. And lowering your calories can put your body into a "starvation" mode.  i've experienced all of it and am still trying to find what works for me at that time in life.

I hope you all the best.  Keep us informed!

[farm_marm]

I agree.  1200 cals is too few for a girl of her size, and with her exercising.  I'd see a nutritionist for an evaluation.

[Sing0808]

there are foods that kick start the metabolism so maybe she should incorporate more of them in her diet, unfortunately I can't remember them hopefully someone else in the forum can.
good luck to your daughter I ahve one who has the same problem, they try so hard and have nothing to show for it, very disheartening for them.

[Poohbear2U]

Her weight gain has nothing to do with her calorie intake it has to do with her thyroid problem.  Her doctor may not have gotten her dosage right on the Armour.  Its very hard to loss weight when you have hypothriodism.

[busy_mom_of_2]

I think your daughter and I are in the same boat.  I am 23, mom of 2, 5' 9" and 223lbs.  I was on weight watchers and gained 6 pounds in 3 weeks.  I follow all programs as I should...no cheating.  The only thing I can advise for your daughter that I have learned is make sure she is drinking a lot of water.  I have read to lose weight you need to have 1/2 your body weight in ounces a day.  I would make sure she doesnt have a thyroid embalance and also maybe research cushing's disease in women.  It is rare but does exsist.  I would research every avenue.  Good luck to you...I hope to have some of my own....still gaining myself unfortunatley.

[friedmad]

It could also be that your daughter is adding more muscle mass than she is losing in fat mass.

She should get a BMI index taken, and have a Resting Metabolic Rate measured to determine how many calories she can intake.